Sam Marder begins her second year as the assistant coach of the College of Charleston softball team. Marder, a decorated professional player, played collegiately under current CofC head coach Linda Kalafatis at Ohio State and rejoins her head coach Linda Kalafatis as the first assistant coach to join the staff.

“I am so excited to have Sam Marder on staff at CofC,” said Kalafatis. “Sam played with great competitiveness and passion and she will bring those same traits now in her role as coach. Sam was an outstanding student-athlete, she excelled at a high level both in the classroom and on the softball diamond.

“She aspires to be a great coach and College of Charleston will provide her with a terrific opportunity to do that. Our players will really enjoy the relationship they'll have with Sam and they'll benefit greatly from her love of the game.”

Marder completed a highly-decorated career under Coach Kalafatis at Ohio State before playing professionally as the seventh overall pick in the 2010 National Professional Fastpitch (NPF) Draft by the Akron Racers.

“I am honored and excited to be joining this program,” said Marder. “It is unbelievable to be working with Coach Kalafatis again. When I was coming to CofC, I told her I was committing to her for a second time. I know how she works and that is going to make the transition process run smoothly.

“It’s an exciting time to be joining the Cougar family. The program has already been successful and I’m exciting to continue the growth. Coach and I are wholly determined to make College of Charleston softball the best that it can be.”

Prior to coming to Charleston, Marder spent two seasons as an assistant softball coach at Boise State. She joined the program in 2012 and helped the Broncos to a school-record 34 wins in her first season.

While there, Marder worked primarily with the outfielders and the Broncos set the school record for team fielding percentage in 2012. Boise State tied for second in the Mountain West standings and ranked No. 57 in the RPI. It is the best finish in the program’s five-year history after peaking at No. 49 during the season- also a program best.

In Marder’s second season with the Broncos, she took on more responsibility as the team’s hitting coach and eventually assumed pitch-calling duties. Three Broncos finished the season hitting better than .340. Marder called pitches for the final 12 games, during which the Broncos had a staff earned run average of 2.96 and went 8-4 to climb the conference standings and finish 9-9, good enough for fourth in the Mountain West.

During Marder’s playing career at Ohio State, she became the first Buckeye softball student-athlete to be named a three-time All-American. Marder was named the Ohio State Female Athlete of the Year in 2009-10 after her senior season. She was the leader of a senior class that finished with 159 wins—second-most in school history—achieved the program’s highest national ranking (No. 12) and advanced to Ohio State’s first NCAA Super Regional (2009).

Marder, a catcher for the Buckeyes, set Ohio State career records for home runs (61), RBIs (191) and walks (232) during her decorated career. Her walk total ranks No. 5 all-time in NCAA Division I history, while she ranks 26th in career home runs and her slugging percentage is the 15th-higest. She was a four-time All-Big Ten and All-Region selection from 2007-2010. Marder was also a four-time scholar athlete.

After finishing her collegiate career, Marder made her professional debut with the NPF’s Akron Racers in 2011, leading the squad with a .403 batting average, seven home runs and 17 RBIs. She helped Akron post a 22-17 record to finish second in the league and was named first-team All-NPF.

In 2012 Marder was named to the All-NPF Team and honored as the league’s Offensive Player of the Year after batting .343 with eight home runs and 27 runs batted in. She ranked in the top five of the NPF in each triple crown category.

Marder began her coaching career as an undergraduate assistant while finishing her degree at Ohio State. She then spent the fall of 2011 as a volunteer assistant at Oregon before joining Boise State.

A native of Calabasas, Calif., Marder was a first-team all-state selection as a senior and three-time all-league and all-area honoree for Calabasas High School.